


Siren’s Call

by becky_rogerz



Category: Distant Shores (Visual Novel), PlayChoices
Genre: Angst, F/M, Falling In Love, Historical, Longing, Love/Hate, Pirates, Unrequited Love, moral grey protagonist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26612647
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/becky_rogerz/pseuds/becky_rogerz
Summary: Calipso is an enchantress and Robert doesn’t trust her. But when he’s forced to cooperate with her, he’s no longer sure his certainties are immune to that woman’s power as he would like to believe.
Relationships: Robert X MC, Robert and MC, Robert/ Main Character, Robert/MC
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Siren’s Call

**Author's Note:**

> Who would have thought that in the end, my first fanfiction in English would have been about Robert and Distant Shores - a book that I actually don’t care about- ? Not me, for sure. But here we are! I really enjoy being inside the mind of complicated and morally questionable characters; analyse their thoughts and psychology is always interesting and satisfying. Not to mention that Robert and our MC could have been the perfect enemies to lovers trope and I’m so mad that PB didn’t explore this relationship.  
> Thanks for reading it! It truly means a lot for me.

_Calipso._

The name of a nymph.

Daughter of Atlas – the titan condemned to hold up the celestial heavens for eternity-, she was named amongst the most beautiful of all immortal goddesses.

_Calipso._

The name of an enchantress.

According to the ancient myths, Calipso kept Odysseus – the Greek hero who won the Trojan War- prisoner on her island for seven years, enchanting him with her singing.

_Calipso._

On Robert’s lips, this name tasted like a sweet, intoxicating poison.

And he hated it.

He hated the way she would sneak into his mind, crawling into his thoughts and taking control of his body. When Robert closed his eyes, she was all he could see: her fierce brown eyes, pure gold under the warm light of the sun, her plump lips tugged into a mischievous smile, a sneer that hid indescribable secrets and impossible mysteries. With those images in his head, Robert's body quivered with anger.

From the day Calipso appeared aboard the _Poseidon’s Revenge_ , she caused nothing but troubles. And Robert had understood it from the first moment he laid his eyes on her: she was a curse. Sent by the gods, probably. A little revenge against all the crimes he had done in the past and the ones he intended to do in the future.

Fate had been cruel to him; it laughed in his face and then it destroyed all his plans one at a time, letting them fall like grains of sand between his fingers. The loss of his ship, having been demoted to First Mate, under the orders of Edward - _that pathetic excuse of a pirate_ -, the failure of his mutiny, his own crew split in half and the humiliating defeat in the duel against that damn woman, that led to the loss of his beloved sword.

Robert hated her so much. Anger writhed his stomach; trembling fingers and grinding teeth.

If she hadn't been there, Robert would have been the Captain of the ship and Edward would have been a corpse buried in the depths of the ocean.

But life wasn’t fair. And because of a stupid twist of fate, now Robert was stuck beside Calipso, sharing the title of Captain and the powers that come with it with her.

_Calipso._

The name of a _witch_.

A witch that, like her godly namesake, enchanted Edward and the whole crew with her dangerous charm; her irresistible voice was as deadly as a siren’s call, the curves of her body were as hypnotic as a snake dance. Making everyone hung from her red lips like fishes, dull and spineless. With the help of her spell, Calipso slowly took command of the ship and Robert couldn’t stand the way she felt entitled to control everything. The way she danced across the ship to check on everyone, the way she laughed at Kendrick’s jokes, the softness in her eyes and in her smile when she was talking to Ginny, the authority in her voice when she gave orders and the way her long and thin fingers wrapped around the hilt of his sword, her grip firm and steady. 

She was nothing but an arrogant, annoying and conceited sea demon.

And the worst part was that Robert was slowly falling into her evil spell.

Despite his countless attempts, he couldn’t get her out his head.

Whenever he stood at the helm, he found himself looking down at her; contemplating every single detail of her body. The little dimple that appeared near her mouth when she smiled, her long brown hair arranged in an intricated composition of braids, the way her nose curled when she laughed. Sometimes he fantasized about how her black-skinned trousers tightened on her thighs or how her white shirt opened on her cleavage revealing the line of her bosom.

Once Robert had found himself watching a small drop of sweat run down her neck; with his gaze fixed on Calipso's skin he had watched the drop pass through her collarbone until it disappeared between her breasts.

After recovering from that enchantment – his breath cut off and his skin hot as the sun- Robert had realized that between his legs, his desire was hard as a rock. That discovery had disgusted him. How could he let himself be charmed by that woman?

Feeling revulsion for himself, he had spent the rest of the day avoiding her. He had not wanted to see her face, he had not wanted to hear her voice or listen to the rest of the crew talking about her. He must stay away from that witch: he couldn’t become another one of her victims. In order to regain control of the ship and become the one and only Captain, Robert needed to keep a clear mind. Calipso couldn’t get in the way of his plans, not again.

But that night, visions of Calipso and her sinful body – her face, her lips, her breasts, her hips, her legs- had tormented him to the point where he had to touch himself to relieve that nuisance that pulsed between his legs.

For Robert, that was the beginning of the end.

And during the week after that accident, the situation only got worse.

***

In need of supplies to prepare for the imminent attack to recover Edward from the Admiral’s ship, the _Damnation_ had docked down at Tiburon a week before. The crew needed some time off; even though they were pirates, no one was able to live in the middle of the ocean for days without going mad.

Relieved that he could take some time for himself to recover from that witch’s clutches, Robert had decided to avoid her unless it was strictly necessary.

He needed to be alone – away from the crew and their futile conversations- in order to figure out what his next move would have been. Just because he agreed to help them rescue Edward, it didn’t mean that he would give up the chance to regain control of the ship. He was seeking for power and nothing and no one could stop him.

But – _of course_ \- Calipso had to get in his way.

It wasn’t a secret that she didn’t trust him, but Robert didn’t expect her to relinquish command to Charlie, just to be free to keep an eye on him at any time. Ignoring Robert’s blatant displeasure, during that week that evil woman hadn’t left his side for even a second.

She was a demon; came from the ocean with the purpose of bewitching men and causing their death. Surely, with her irritating presence, Calipso was _indeed_ killing Robert. And for the first time in his life, he had felt defenceless against such a danger.

During the first day of their forced cooperation at Tiburon, they stayed locked in a room at the town’s inn, with the intention of planning the best strategy to lure the Navy to the island where Calipso had buried the compass. Robert could care less about Edward and if it were up to him, he would have left that idiot rotten in that cage, but the compass was too valuable to pass up. For this reason, he had patiently helped Calipso, trying to show himself willing and loyal enough to make her reveal the exact location of the hiding place. But all his attempts were in vain: she was stubborn as a goat and Robert’s efforts were not enough to make her talk. 

Edward’s distance had made her tense, Robert could sense it by the way her body remained rigid; the hand ready to draw her sword and the jaw contracted. Part of him found amusing how Calipso was close to have a nervous breakdown, but the other part of him – the one that Robert wanted to ignore- hated the fact that she was feeling like that because of Edward.

Edward.

_That hypocrite!_

Robert was aware of every single atrocity committed by him; all those innocent families robbed, those poor men killed, and that village razed to the ground, burned to the last remaining child. He also knew that those things were done out of pure greed, under the Admiral’s command. The fact that Edward had redeemed himself and that he was out there, playing the hero, drove Robert out of his mind.

That stupid boy was a real pain in the ass.

And Robert couldn’t believe that Calipso was fond of him.

Taking advantage of the situation, Robert had watched her closely that day. He had noticed the little dimple that appeared between her brows when she was reading carefully the map, or the way she used to bite her nails when she got lost in her thoughts. Seeing her in that state – almost fragile and human- made Robert doubt her true nature.

And then he did his first mistake.

He started to tease her.

First with a few jokes about Edward, then –bored by the lack of the reaction he had hoped for- he focused his attention on her.

<< Look at the _mighty_ Calipso >> he said, his lips curled in a mischievous grin << the saviour who appeared out of nowhere to bring peace and love among us common mortals, find herself struggling before the simplest map I’ve ever seen>>

At those words, Calipso looked up from the map. Like a flash of lightning, her eyes pierced Robert’s; letting an electrical discharged pass through his spine and making his body tingle. Unaware of the effect she had on him, Calipso didn’t say anything: she shook her head and went back to study the fastest way to reach the island.

Bothered, Robert advanced slowly towards her; his arms folded against his chest and a sardonic smile on his face. He positioned himself behind her; his torso tilted forward to get a better look at the map. He remained silent for a few seconds, intended on checking the confused signs that Calipso had traced between the Caribbean islands. With his face a few inches away from her, it had been difficult for him to focus on anything other than the woman’s scent.

The intoxicating aroma of the sea breeze after days spent away from the ocean.

Familiar, comforting and so damn attractive. A perfume that held the endless mysteries of the deep blue sea. And Robert couldn’t help but be drawn to that promise of adventure and freedom.

Because of that sudden closeness, Calipso’s body stiffened; her hand held in a fist and her breath severed. Amused by that reaction, Robert walked away from her.

<< As I was saying, being a pirate is not a game. Today, I’ve helped you in every way I can and yet, you still refuse to take my advice >> continued Robert grabbing a glass off the table and pouring himself a finger of rum << drop this presumptuous attitude and let a real pirate handle this situation >>

His voice was stern, demanding. He was looking at her through the glass, waiting for her response. He knew that those words would trigger her fury. As Robert had predicted, Calipso jumped out from her chair and let a mocking laugh slip from her lips.

<< A real pirate? _You_? Do me the favour! >> she hissed, placing both of her hands on the table; in her irises a raging fire reflected her anger << what does it even mean to you? Deceive and betray the people who trusted you? Because if that’s what you mean, I’m so glad you don’t see me as such! >>

Robert took another sip of his rum, unmoved by her words << That’s not what I’ve said >> he answered calmly as he placed the glass on the table << I don’t think you can plan an ambush without my help, just as I’m sure you don’t have the proper knowledge and ability to be our current captain >>

From the other side of the room, Calipso was listening to him; her fingernails pressed against the palms of her hands and her face twisted in rage.

<< But deceiving and betraying the crew? >> Robert glanced at her; his lips tugged in a challenging grin << I’m deeply sure you’re capable of that >>

<< Robert you don’t know nothing about me >> Calipso answered; her voice was firm, stoic. << You’re too stubborn, blinded by this pathetic hate you feel for me to understand why I’m doing all this >>

_I don’t hate you._

Robert contracted his jaw, a futile attempt to supress that thought.

He should have been pleased by the disgust that leaked out of her words, but he was only upset. A feeling that he wasn’t entitled to feel. Why would Calipso have thought of him in a different way? He has been hostile to her since the beginning, for the gods’ sake: he even tried to kill her!

<< And tell me, why are you doing all this? It’s because of Edward? >> a hint of jealousy made the tone of his voice harsher, but luckily Calipso didn’t seem to notice it.

A dark cloud covered her face; her previous pride was nothing but a shadow.

She shrugged, folding her arms. << Edward is not the only reason why I’m doing all this >>

Robert noticed a glimpse of something deeper than sadness in her gaze – melancholy and guilt, perhaps- and baffled by that vision, he decided to put an end to that pointless bickering.

<< Good, I was starting to wonder if you had forgotten _him_ >> he said with a smile.

Calipso raised an eyebrow.

<< Who? Edward? >> she asked confused.

Robert threw his head back and laughed, a gesture so unexpected that left Calipso speechless.

<< As I imagined >> he continued, placing his hands on his hips. His eyes were watching amused the bewildered woman in front of him << I mean, _Henry_ is a fool most of the times but he’s not always that useless >>

Calipso gasped, covering her mouth with her hand << Henry! >>

With nonchalance, Robert tightened his belt and adjusted his shirt cuffs << but unfortunately, I’ve come to knowing his cooking well enough to say that your idea of leaving him with the Admiral is the best punishment for both of them >>

In that precise moment something changed.

The sweetest sound that he had ever heard broke the tension in the room. Her laughter was melodious, the sound of the waves breaking into the shore.

He stared at her amazed; the smile on her face, the way her eyes were closed because of the laughter, her hands pressed on her red cheeks… that was thanks to him. She was laughing because of _his_ joke. For the first time, he didn’t make her angry.

His heart stopped in an instant.

The feelings he had tried so hard to supress had burst out, leaving a warm trail inside him that made his body burning. Annihilated by that new emotion, Robert was helpless.

He was there, standing still in the room with her, hypnotized by that siren’s call.


End file.
